Nokia Set to Launch Cheaper Handset Models to Fight Rivals: Sources

Nokia is shifting the focus of its turnaround strategy to regaining domination of cheaper handsets after a stuttering campaign to catch up with Apple and Samsung in high-end smartphones.

COPENHAGEN: Nokia is shifting the focus of its turnaround strategy to regaining domination of cheaper handsets after a stuttering campaign to catch up with Apple and Samsung in high-end smartphones.

Company sources said it would introduce cut-price basic phones to compete with the likes of Huawei and ZTE and a new, lower-price model of its Lumia smartphone on Monday at the Mobile World Congress convention in Barcelona.

Nokia, once the industry's undisputed leader, is struggling to close the yawning gap with Apple's iPhones and Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and is also losing share in the low-end market which still accounts for the bulk of its sales.

Sales of basic phones fell over 20 per cent in 2012 to 9.4 billion euros.

While some media reports have said that Nokia will announce a tablet in Barcelona, the company is not yet ready to unveil one, one of the sources said.